Why You Don’t Matter…

I know, I know, that sounds plain selfish. But you know what? I don’t care. I just don’t.

Let me clarify.

It’s not that I don’t care about you, it’s just that I care about me more. And that, in a marketing context, is how it should be.

Here’s what I know about you: You want to sell me something. And when I buy that something, you’ll want to sell me something else. And something else after that.

You’re in it for the money. You’re in it for the sales quota. You’re in it for the commissions.

That’s what *I* think. And that’s what I’ll continue to think unless and until you show me differently. And make no mistake, the way I think affects my buying decisions. It affects whether I buy from you in the first place, and, if I do decide to buy from you, whether I continue to do so.

So, now that you know that… how is that going to change how you deal with me?

Let’s say you’re a dentist and I need a checkup. And possibly a cleaning. Teeth whitening isn’t on my mind. Nor is straightening my ever-so-slightly crooked front teeth. I’ve lived with imperfection this long, and I’ll happily continue to do so.

I schedule an appointment with you for an initial visit to get to know you. If, at the checkup, you tell me that I have two cavities which need filling, and that I need a thorough cleaning, we’re good. If, however, you have dollar signs in your eyes and you tell me that teeth whitening would do wonders for my confidence, and that straightening my teeth would help with that, too, well… let me tell you this:

I can see right through you.

If you start offering me “all the extras” before you know me, you’ll lose my trust… even before you’ve really gained it. I want to build a good working relationship with you. My friend told me about you. I trust my friend. She trusts you. Maybe I can trust you too.

But no. You think you know me. You think your assumptions about me are valid. You think you can upsell me on procedures I neither want nor need.

Methinks you think too much.

Methinks I will continue to be selfish. I’ll continue to put myself first. If you want to gain my trust, try being selfless for a change. You see, only one of us gets to be selfish, and that one of us, is me.